Project Management

Best Practices in Portfolio Management

• Traditional Classroom: 2-day
• Virtual Instructor-led: Four 3-hour sessions

Many organizations do not understand or focus on how their projects support the enterprise strategy. This can impede both progress and efficiency in achieving the organization’s goals. This course surveys important views of enterprise strategy and provides the tools and understanding necessary to keep projects on the correct organizational track. Projects that strategically align to organizational goals can significantly impact the life cycle return on investment and the ability to invest in projects. Lectures, discussions, and exercises will familiarize participants with prioritizing projects and how best practices in strategic alignment can help ensure a project’s contribution to enterprise success.

Target Audience

Individuals who will benefit from this course include PMO directors, program directors, program managers, and senior project managers.

Learning Objectives

• Develop a common understanding of strategy, project portfolios, and portfolio alignment.
• Apply project evaluation, prioritization, and selection techniques to your existing project portfolio.
• Develop recommendations for improving the portfolio management process in your organization.

Key Takeaways

• An overview of business strategy, including modern views of enterprise strategy and its implementation.
• Examples of effective models of business strategy and how and why they work.
• How to implement strategies with projects and use the project portfolio as a strategic decision vehicle.
• Effective tools and techniques used to achieve correct selection of projects and align these projects to the organizational strategy.
• Portfolio construction requirements.
• How to ensure strategic alignment throughout the project life cycle and keep key stakeholders engaged with the project.
• How to define, report, and track the strategic value of the projects or portfolio.

Pre-Course Preparation

To maximize and accelerate the benefit derived from attending the session, participants will be applying the tools and techniques learned in the course to their actual job responsibilities. Participants will be asked to use real project data in exercises that will help them view the portfolio of projects within their organization.

Course Outline

Module 1: Course Introduction

• Course Overview, Agenda, Introductions

Module 2: Business Strategy

• Business Strategy Terms
  • Strategy
  • Integration of External Partners
  • Objectives
  • Projects
• NPI and LCM Project Life Cycles
• Discussion

Module 3: Project Portfolios

• Goals of Portfolio Management
  • Mission
  • Vision
  • Goals
  • Discussion
  • Portfolio Governance Models
    • Key Portfolio Stakeholders
    • Governance — Escalation & Decision Making
    • Roles & Responsibilities
    • Application Exercise

  Module 4: Balanced Scorecard

  • Balanced Scorecard Views
  • Discussion

  Module 5: Project Selection and Alignment

  • Non-Numeric Techniques
  • Scoring Models
  • Evaluating a Project Portfolio Using Scoring Models
  • Application Exercise

  Module 6: Portfolio Reporting

  • Common Reporting Platform
  • Successful Project Portfolio Management Processes
    • Project Life Cycles
    • Capacity Planning
    • Portfolio Risk Management
  • Executive Management Review
  • Application Exercise

  Module 7: Summary and Closing

  • Management Buy-In
  • Integrating Portfolio Management Practices
  • Project Management Capability
  • Next Steps
  • Exercise

  MDV595 Course Code